Old Trafford to get Ashes Test in 2023
CRICKET CHRIS OSTICK
EMIRATES Old Trafford will host an Ashes Test in 2023 – and in a double boost for the club the ground has also been named one of the eight hosts for the new city-based T20 competition which starts in 2020.
Lancashire had already been awarded an Ashes Test for next year’s series along with several World Cup games – including a semi-final.
But in the announcement by the ECB of the major match venues from 2019 to 2024, Lancashire have been handed a bumper, money-spinning package of international cricket.
Not only do they have the Ashes in 2023 – which is worth between £5m and £6m in ticket sales alone for the club – they will host Tests against Pakistan (2020), India (2021) and a yet unnamed opponent in 2024.
Added to that there will also be five T20 internationals - three of which are against Australia (2020), Pakistan (2021) and India (2022) as well as an ODI against South Africa in 2022.
Lord’s, The Kia Oval, Edgbaston and Emerald Headingley are the other venues for the 2023 Ashes, with Trent Bridge missing out.
Lancashire believe it will attract more than a million visitors to the ground for international cricket alone between 2020 and 2024 which will generate around £83m for Manchester.
And on top of that is the new T20 competition, part of which will be screened on free-to-air TV and which the ECB hope will match the popularity of Australia’s Big Bash.
Lancashire chairman David Hodgkiss said: “This truly shows how Emirates Old Trafford has become one of the leading venues in world cricket.
“As a club, we are determined to grow the game of cricket across all communities in the county of Lancashire and the north west as a whole, with families and supporters able to watch, at affordable prices, some of the best cricket and greatest players in Manchester over the coming years.
“Emirates Old Trafford has been a Test venue for over 130 years and we are proud of our rich heritage and history in hosting international fixtures.
“To host the Ashes in 2023, following on from 2019, is one of the ‘moments’ of cricket both from a playing, watching and hosting perspective, and will enable our vision of re-engaging our core cricket audiences across over 300 clubs in Lancashire, as well as every school in the north west, and attracting new fans through the new T20 tournament.”
Lancashire missed out on an Ashes Test in 2015, but in 2013 England clinched the series at the ground. And, famously, in 2005 around 20,000 people were locked out of the packed stadium on the final day as England pushed for victory, only for Australia to hang on for a draw off the last ball of the match.
However, the club lost Test match status in 2008. Since then, the ground has undergone a £60m redevelopment, with a new 150-room hotel the latest addition.
“We are very proud of the continued redevelopment of Emirates Old Trafford over the last 10 years and, in the process, create a long-term, robust and sustainable financial business, that allows Lancashire cricket, and the game as a whole, to flourish and develop across the region,” added Hodgkiss. “This comprehensive allocation of fixtures, along with the new hotel and a flourishing conference and events business, will see us achieve the aim of financial stability in the coming years and position us to invest more and more in the game throughout the north west year on year.”